By Andrea Lambrou

Copyright dailyrecord

A Scots rape survivor said today she is “relieved” justice has been upheld after her attacker lost his bid to appeal the conviction. John Buchanan was unanimously found guilty of the horrific rape at his flat in East Kilbride in November 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison at the High Court in Glasgow in February this year. The 40-year-old, who was a door bouncer at the town’s Shenanigans pub before it closed down, was also served with a 10-year non-harassment order and put on the sex offenders’ register for life. Buchanan was found guilty of assaulting his victim, seizing her by the body, restraining her, struggling with her, seizing her by the head, holding her nose restricting her breathing and raping her. Protesting his innocence, Buchanan forced his victim to relive the trauma of that day during a week-long trial. In a final insult to her, Buchanan lodged a motion to appeal his conviction but this week it was thrown out. Praising the appeal decision, she told Lanarkshire Live: “I was notified that he [Buchanan] had finally put in his appeal which set my recovery back so much. “I was warned if he got the right to appeal, he could be released on bail again pending appeal decision. This just reinstated fear in every aspect of my life all over again. “However I have just received a letter informing me that he has lost his right to appeal. The evidence in the trial was substantial and clear and it showed him for what he is. A rapist. “I am so relieved the appeals panel could clearly see from the abundance of physical evidence the predator he is and justice is upheld. I hope by sharing my story it protects other women.” Two months prior to the rape, Buchanan appeared in the East Kilbride News where he was labelled as a ‘fundraising hero’ after running a Scottish half-marathon for a sick local boy. He was pictured posing for photographs with the youngster, now to the disgust of the boy’s mother. Speaking after his sentence, the victim said: “People who knew him were like he does fundraising and he’s a dead good guy, he’s this fundraising hero. Meanwhile I’m thinking this fundraising hero has completely ruined my life.” Bravely speaking out about the “horrendous” attack back in March, the survivor described her three-year journey through the justice system as “long and gruelling” and revealed the “mental scars” still live with her today. “After a long and gruelling journey through the justice system, on January 21 John Buchanan was found unanimously guilty by 15 jury members in Glasgow High Court”, she said. “During this attack he held me down, knelt on my limbs and held my nose to force my mouth open. “You just go into a freeze mode where you don’t know if you’re actually going to get out that flat. It was just horrendous. And then having to go through it over the last three years was terrible. “I was left not only with physical scarring and bruising – including handprints of his over my body from the pressure he used holding me down – but mental scars that still live with me today.” The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed that an intimation of intention to appeal against conviction was lodged on February 25. A spokesperson said: “The appeal by John Buchanan was refused, and the appeal is now at an end.” *Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .